BROOKLYN, NY- Scoring six runs in a 6-0 victory last night, the Brooklyn Cyclones seemed ready to bust out offensively; the Hudson Valley Renegades however, had other things in mind, limiting the Mets Single-A Affiliate to just five hits in a 3-1 loss.

“We had opportunities to hit in the clutch tonight and we didn’t,” said Cyclones manager George Greer. “Ruckle wasn’t sharp in the first two innings either.”

Looking to redeem himself after giving up seven earned runs over 6.1 innings in his last two starts, Jake Ruckle wouldn’t start today’s game the way he would have liked, getting himself into bases loaded jams in the first two innings he pitched and gave up three runs, courtesy of a Matt Fields RBI groundout and a Brandon Rousseve single that brought two more Renegades home, putting the Cyclones down early.

“His off-speed stuff was not on the plate,” said Greer. “It was up in the parts of the plate where it could be hit and they hit it. If he doesn’t spot his fastball, he’s going to get hit.”

The Cyclones managed to get one run back in the first on a Dustin Martin [0-1, walk, HBP] RBI sacrifice fly that would score Luis Rivera [2-3], but after two innings of play, they still found themselves down two runs.

Ruckle would then settle down for Brooklyn, hurling four innings of shutout ball before being replaced by Jeremy Mizell in the seventh, keeping the score at 3-1. The Cyclones would have a few chances to get back into the game, including a bases loaded opportunity in the sixth, but wouldn’t be able to muster any offense off Hudson Valley reliever Ryan Reid, who replaced Ryan Morse after he threw 5.2 quality innings of his own, keeping the game deadlocked at 3-1.

“I felt good all night. At first, I couldn’t spot my fastball or get inside and it killed me,” said Ruckle. “I think I figured everything out; I feel confident again. I’m ready to go after Tri-City next week.”

Mizell however, unlike Ruckle, was forced to focus on the game at hand and pitched three shutout innings for the ‘Clones. The offense unfortunately was unable to solve Reid or Renegades closer Erik Walker, stranding eight runners on five hits, leading to a 3-1 loss.

Now with a 14-17 record at home, the Cyclones find themselves still a half-game behind Oneonta for the wild card with 12 games remaining. Out of the 12 games remaining, seven are scheduled at Keyspan, meaning Brooklyn must find a way to win at home in order to make the playoffs.

While happy to get on the road, where the team has dominated most of the season, Greer and Rivera still feel the team has a chance to make the playoffs, in spite of their inability to win at home this season.

“We have a better road record, so I think it’s a very good thing,” said Greer. “We can have some momentum coming into our last two series at home. I have all of the confidence in the world that we can win every game [remaining].”

“Everybody wants to win right now,” said Rivera. “We’re motivated. We never think about losing.”